There’s a lot of talk about biometric fingerprint scanning on smartphones nowadays, spurred of course by Apple’s use of the technology on its flagship iPhone 5S. Well now Android users can feel biometrically enhanced as well, thanks to the introduction of a new free app from Alabama based DFT Inc.

The ICE Unlock Fingerprint Secure app is a free Android app which delivers a fingerprint based lock system to secure your handset from unwanted prying. The app, which is not a joke, like so many on the app store, actually takes a photo of your finger and then stores an encrypted ‘template‘ of your finger on the phone.

The system doesn’t store the actual photo of your finger, which apparently makes for more security, and according to the company blurb the app is actually more accurate than the touch tech used on the iPhone which is prone to distortion, wear and tear and…er…hacking?

Of course every system can be hacked, including this one, so it’s probably safer to add an extra layer of protection like a PIN number anyway, especially if your phone contains lots of secrets. Anyway, hats off to the developers for coming up with a working biometric solution which doesn’t require lots of additional hardware. Cool stuff!

Nigel is the managing editor of the Red Ferret, as well as a freelance columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper in London. Loves tech and fancies himself as a bit of a futurist, but then don’t we all?

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